Self Portrait Project: #3

I asked my younger sister to stand behind me with her arms out stretched. I wanted to see little snippets of her behind me; her hair, her hip, the cotton undies, etc. I think the elements in the image are simple responses to previous image references I’ve seen, maybe the controversial ad campaign created by American Apparel and Richard Kern with red stockings. It was at a time the company was getting a lot of flak (understatement) about showing provocative images of under age girls and porn stars; they were strong advertising images which caused a lot of outrage and Kern, who I believe shot many of the images, had the perfectly edgy/seedy style to pull it off.

The portrait is strong and protective, I created it intuitively on the day and now when I look at it I’m surprised by these element. I like the corresponding colour in the lips/stockings and towel/background, I like the boldness and strangeness too.